A gloriously giant and shirtless Jeff Goldblum statue was erected in London

Life found a way to amuse us this week. A giant statue of a bare-chested Jeff Goldblum was raised next to London's iconic Tower Bridge. The 25-foot statue, depicting the actor in the reclining pose he made famous in Jurassic Park, is meant to mark that film's 25th anniversary. Subscription service Now TV installed the temporary "Jurassic Jeff" on the south bank of the Thames on Wednesday. The outlandish stunt prompted many selfies and social media posts — though some Twitter users called it "far-fetched," pointing out that the movie wasn't filmed in London and nor is Goldblum a London native. And the movie's 25th anniversary was more than a month ago. Honestly, we don't mind.

There’s a ninja shortage in Japan

File this under problems we never thought we'd see. This town in Japan has a ninja shortage. A. Ninja. Shortage. For NPR's Planet Money podcast, Sally Herships visited Iga, a city in central Japan that calls itself the birthplace of the ninja. The city is facing population decline, and aims to draw in tourists by promoting its ninja heritage. For that, the city needs people performing as ninjas, and it can't seem to find enough of them, even though the pay reaches up to $85,000 a year. Tons of tweeters volunteered, asking questions like @Joseph31Lazzaro's "Why didn't my guidance counselor tell me this was an option?" Heck, even we might just ditch our journalism degrees and start new careers as ninjas. Where do we sign up?

Bruce Springsteen is everywhere this week, with a boost from Billy Joel and Netflix

Put away your wallet — you won't have to pay hundreds of dollars to see Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show. Netflix announced Wednesday that it will broadcast the Boss' one-man show on Dec. 15, his last performance. In the show, Springsteen performs more than a dozen songs and tells stories about growing up in New Jersey. Tickets for the show have been reselling for more than $1,000. Also this week, Springsteen propped himself on top of Billy Joel's piano to sing a duet with the Piano Man, who was celebrating his 100th concert at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. Springsteen surprised the feverish and fanatic audience with Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and Born to Run. Joel, 69, and Springsteen, 68, hugged after their two-song performance, and the Boss kissed Joel on his head as he walked offstage. Click here to watch the video.

Blockbuster is still closing, despite help from Russell Crowe’s jockstrap and John Oliver

Not even Russell Crowe's jockstrap can save Blockbuster. Stores in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, closed for rentals this week and reopened for video liquidation sales planned to run through August. Everything is for sale, except the jockstrap worn by Crowe in Cinderella Man and other memorabilia, KTUU-TV reported. John Oliver sent the items earlier this year to display in the Anchorage store in an effort to ramp up business. Oliver had purchased the items at what Crowe had dubbed "the divorce auction." The closures of the Alaska Blockbusters leave just one U.S. store: Bend, Ore.

Harvey Weinstein asked a judge to dismiss Ashley Judd lawsuit, saying they had a ‘bargain’

Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked a federal judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by Ashley Judd that charges the producer ruined her career after she rejected his sexual advances. Weinstein's legal counsel claims the movie mogul and the actor had a "bargain" that allowed him to touch her if she "won an Academy Award in one of his films," records show. The allegation met with outrage and disgust from Judd's attorney, who said the actor was simply trying to escape Weinstein's clutches. "Mr. Weinstein's arguments seeking to escape the consequences of his despicable misconduct are not only baseless, they are offensive. We look forward to … proving to a jury that Mr. Weinstein maliciously damaged Ms. Judd's career because she resisted his sexual advances," said Theodore J. Boutrous, Judd's attorney.

In other news …

CHARGED: Prosecutors have charged T.I. with simple assault, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct after a May altercation outside his Atlanta area home. Police at the time said T.I., real name Clifford Harris, had lost his key and the guard wouldn't let him in the gated neighborhood.

CHARGED: Prosecutors have charged Teen Mom's Farrah Abraham with two misdemeanor charges (battery and resisting a peace officer) over a scuffle with a Beverly Hills hotel security guard last month.

LEGAL NEWS: British rock icon Cliff Richard was awarded 210,000 pounds ($273,000) in damages Wednesday after winning a privacy lawsuit against the BBC for its coverage of a police raid at his home in 2014. The coverage included a helicopter that circled the star's home as authorities conducted a search investigating alleged sex offenses. The 77-year-old singer was never arrested or charged with any crime.

LEGAL NEWS: Johnny Depp has settled lawsuits with his former business managers, which he accused in January 2017 of financial abuse and negligence, seeking more than $25 million. The firm countersued and argued that Depp was solely to blame, spending more than $2 million a month. No details of the settlement were released.

HEALTH NEWS: Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams says she's "proudly" seeking help for the depression she has struggled with for years. Williams said in an Instagram post Tuesday that she has "sought help from a great team of health care professionals."

NOT SPLIT: Liam Hemsworth, 28, and Miley Cyrus, 25, posted a video dancing in the car after reports that they called off their wedding.

(PROBABLY) DATING: Miranda Lambert and Evan Felker, both 34, were photographed holding hands, some three months after Us Weekly reported they are dating.

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